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Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023

On 11 April 2025 the government announced the £20.6m Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 would be extended to March 2026, with up to £21.11 million additional funds being made available to support the installation of a common alarm system, replacing waking watch measures in all residential buildings where a waking watch is currently in place in England, regardless of where the costs of the waking watch fall. The new fund builds on the progress made by the initial Waking Watch Relief Fund and the Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2022. The additional funding will incentivise the installation of alarms and protect more residents in more buildings pending their full remediation or the provision of long-term mitigation measures.

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Contents

Summary

On 11 April 2025 the government announced the £20.6m Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 would be extended to March 2026, with up to £21.11 million additional funds being made available to support the installation of a common alarm system, replacing waking watch measures in all residential buildings where a waking watch is currently in place in England, regardless of where the costs of the waking watch fall. The fund builds on the £35 million Waking Watch Relief Fund (WWRF) which was focused on high-rise residential buildings (above 17.7 metres) with a waking watch in place (at cost to leaseholders) due to unsafe cladding, and the £27 million Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2022, which expanded eligibility to residential buildings of any height with a waking watch in place due to any fire safety defect.  The £41.71m Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 extends financial support to more buildings and is aligned with guidance published by the National Fire Chief’s Council (NFCC) on buildings that change from a ‘Stay Put’ to a ‘Simultaneous Evacuation’ fire safety strategy.

Application guidance

Applications to this fund should use this guidance: Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2023 - full fund application guidance and application form. 

Who will benefit? 

Leaseholders who may have faced high costs or delays in the implementation of interim safety measures by providing financial support and delivering a better, long-term fire safety system in their buildings. 

Which buildings will be eligible? 

The fund will cover the upfront capital costs of installing an alarm system. The common fire alarm system should generally be designed in accordance with the recommendations of BS 5839-1 for a Category L5 system, which is referred to in the NFCC’s revised guidance on simultaneous evacuation.To be eligible:

  • the building must be located in England

  • the building must be a residential building

  • the building must have a Waking Watch in place

Will retrospective costs be considered? 

The re-opened fund will cover the cost of alarms where installation work commenced on or after 25 May 2023. 

Delivery of the fund

The fund will be administered centrally by MHCLG to all eligible buildings.

Eligibility

Funding is available for the reasonable costs to support the installation of an alarm system in eligible buildings.  

To be eligible: 

  1. The building must be located in England.

  2. The building must be a residential building (as defined in paragraph 13 of this guidance). 

  3. The building must have a Waking Watch in place which has been identified and agreed by either a Competent Person (as described in part 2 of the Simultaneous Evacuation guidance) or via Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) intervention to support a move to a simultaneous evacuation fire safety strategy. 

  4. The installation of an alarm in the building must be sufficient (when combined with any other remediation measures notified as part of the application) to remove the need for the Waking Watch, save for in exceptional circumstances involving high risk buildings as may be approved at the discretion of the Secretary of State (and in which case the circumstances should be described fully in the application, with supporting evidence).

  5. The proposed alarm must meet the required standard (see paragraph 18 for the alarm specification).

  6. The costs must be reasonable. This will require the provision of 3 quotes from different alarm installation companies. Applicants must specify their preferred supplier from the 3 quotes provided and their reasons for this preference. 

  7. The building has not received the benefit of funds from and is not the subject of an application to the Waking Watch Relief Fund or the Waking Watch Replacement Fund 2022.

Objectives

The fund is designed to incentivise the installation of a fire alarm in residential buildings and replace Waking Watch measures, delivering a more sustainable interim fire safety system in the buildings pending remediation or mitigation work.

Dates

How to apply

Please apply using the links provided in the Summary tab on this page, or alternatively on the Gov.uk website.

Supporting information